Stage One: Thwarted
by DMXrated01
Summary: I've read Cries Unheard before, and put bluntly, its events are nothing but one big idiot plot, for protagonists and antagonists alike. Some things are believable, but here is what would've really happened if the canon characters didn't fall into plot-induced idiocy.


**Author's note: **Long story short, what led up to this, was that bloodscorpion4ever went from being my favorite LS fanfic author (after I sought and found copies of his old works) to a new enemy of mine. What happened, was that I asked various questions while he was actually working on Cries Unheard, but after leaving a few reviews critiquing his work at some point, he snapped and told me to just read his shit or just leave. Two days later, I PM'ed him an apology, hoping to smooth things over with him, but he didn't respond. Come chapter 13, I asked him something about how his antagonists operate, and he went to post 14 without answering.

That, plus some kind of trauma I experienced for days particularly after chapter 8, plus more than a few things others agree are wrong with the storytelling, plus CU's lack of updates for over two months now, all make things just ripe for everything I've written below.

(By the way, feel free to request copies of his older works if you'd like anything.)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Lucky Star or half the content of this fic.

"Well, this is our last homeroom together, but I have nothing special to say," said Nanako Kuroi, homeroom teacher of Ryouou High School Class 3-B. "Really, all that work to come up with a canned speech is just gonna go in one ear and out the other, and besides, the words y'all should really remember are those of the people you got to hang out with these past three years. So, why don't y'all just hang out and talk amongst yourselves for today."

With that, the room was filled with random chatter between all the students.

"So, is everyone doing anything special now that we've all graduated?" asked Konata Izumi.

"We're just going out to eat somewhere," said her friend Kagami Hiiragi.

"My family is doing the same," said another friend, Miyuki Takara.

Just then, the door slid open.

"Miss Takara?" called headmaster Kesao Machizuki. "There's someone here I would like you to meet."

Miyuki headed outside the class, and her three friends followed suit. Out in the hall stood a boy their age with shoulder-length blonde hair, a sturdy build, and wearing a sleek black business suit.

"I am honored to introduce the son of someone whom your father has become business partners with. Please say hello to Mr. Satoshi Fujisaku."

"Miyuki Takara?" asked the young man.

"Why, yes," replied the girl. "And these are my friends, Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi and Konata Izumi."

"It's an honor to meet you and your friends for the very first time," said Satoshi. "Did your father tell you about the new partnership that his company will be forming with ours?"

"I can't say he has yet. I suppose I should ask him when I'm home."

"I'm home," said Miyuki upon walking into her house. No sooner had she entered did she hear her mother talking to several other people.

Upon walking into the living room, the others turned out to be a man wearing a business suit just like Satoshi's, and a woman dressed in a red business dress. On the table sat a plate ful of sandwiches and some mugs of tea.

"My, we have company?" asked the girl, upon coming in.

"Oh, you're back!" said Yukari, before facing the other two again. "Kai, Yukiko, this is my daughter Miyuki."

"So, you are Yukari and Jiro's daughter?" asked Kai. "It is an honor to meet you."

"Same to you two," replied Miyuki.

"Our son Satoshi is also here," said Yukiko.

"Oh, you're his parents!?" The girl grew excited. "I've actually met that boy in school just earlier today. Our school's headmaster called me over to meet him."

"He's just in the bathroom right now, and he'll be right with us," said Kai. "From what your mother tells us, though, you two seem to have a lot in common. You're both straight-A students, class representatives, fond of books, and aspire to become doctors. Is that so?"

"Why, yes, indeed."

"Miyuki-san, so nice to see you again!" said Satoshi upon returning.

"Satoshi-san," said Miyuki. "It's been a pleasure thus far to meet your parents."

"Miyuki, dear," said Yukari. "It's a nice spring day today, so would you perhaps take Satoshi-san out for a tour of our neighborhood?"

"I'd be interested in such a thing, now that you mention it," said Satoshi.

The cool spring air was quite fitting for such a romantic time between the two teenagers as they walked side by side. Miyuki showed Satoshi all the highlights of her neighborhood, and the two of them learned so much about eachother.

"So, even though your father is the CEO of an international shipping corporation, you still volunteer at soup kitchens and animal shelters?"

"Yes," replied Satoshi. "Whenever I'm not reading to children at the library. Books are one of my greatest passions, and I would like all children to appreciate them as much as I do."

"That is quite admirable of you."

"Why, thank you."

At that moment, they both stopped talking to take in everything they learned about eachother while continuing to walk together.

_"Satoshi-san..._" thought Miyuki._ "What a wonderful person... Smart, articulate, funny, selfless... He's almost the perfect human being, matched only by Minami-chan..."_

Before dark, Satoshi returned Miyuki back to her place. Soon as the girl was inside, he made his way over to the house directly across the street, thinking rather dark thoughts.

_"Do you not remember, Miyuki?"_ he mused. _"That this wasn't the first time we've met?"_

Upon reaching the gate to the other house, the boy spied a large white dog, who noticed him in turn after filling in a hole with some dirt. They looked each other in the eye, and the dog growled at him.

"Down, girl," said the boy while reaching into his pocket. From it, he produced a bone-shaped doggy biscuit, which he then tossed at the animal. After sniffing it a few times, she consumed the treat, and the next thing she knew, a shooting pain coursed throughout her body. She lied down, foaming at the mouth, and breathed shorter and shorter until she stopped altogether.

"Good girl," said Satoshi. "Now stay that way."

As she ate breakfast the following morning, Kagami thought about what she and her friends would do for their first day of Spring Break this year. Shopping, the arcade, seeing a movie, eating out, watching the cherry blossoms... The addition of a new friend-not to mention the first guy to enter their lives-was bound make things that much more fun.

"Kagami," said Miki, handing her the phone and interrupting her thoughts. "Miyuki-chan's on the phone for you."

"Hey, Miyuki, what's up?" said Kagami after taking the phone.

"It's terrible," said her friend, sobbing. "Minami-chan... just came to me... and informed me... that Cherry... is... dead."

She couldn't help but gasp. "You're kidding..."

"I think I know who might be responsible."

"Don't tell me..."

"I'll be sure to call the police. Please just come down here, I beg you."

"I let everyone know." Kagami then hung up and faced her family. "Mom, Dad, Inori, Matsuri, me and Tsukasa need to go to Minami-chan's house today. Her dog is dead."

Their mouths all opened in shock.

"That's terrible!" said Inori.

"That must feel awful," said Matsuri.

"I agree," said Tadao.

"I'll go wake Tsukasa up and inform her," said Miki.

The twins arrived at the Iwasaki household at around noon that day, each with a wicker basket of chocolate-chip cookies that Tsukasa baked during the hour before they left home. Answering the door was none other than Minami's somber-looking mother Honoka.

"Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi?" she asked them.

"Mm-hm," they both said.

"Thank you for coming to visit. Your friends are all in the living room with her."

Inside with Minami were Miyuki, Konata, Hiyori, Patricia, and of course, Yutaka Kobayakawa. Minami herself held Cherry's collar in her hand.

"Minami?" said Kagami. "I wish I could say we know how you feel, but even though we never owned a dog before, we wouldn't really have to just to know that this must be one of the worst days of your life."

"Miyuki-chan told me everything," said Minami. "She told me about that boy you girls met yesterday, and about the visit he and his parents paid him."

"I will admit that it didn't occur to me right away," said Miyuki. "But, we have reason to believe that either Satoshi-san or one of his parents was behind this. I didn't want to believe it once Minami-chan and I arrived at such a conclusion. I would never have suspected such a charming young man as he to have done something so terrible had we not taken a moment to recount the events of last night."

"I knew deep down from the start he'd do something like this. And I'm not kidding either. You all know about sociopaths, right? They all seem so charming and everything, but beneath all that, they all have secret agendas of their own."

"Say, you think your dad will be coming home because of this?" asked Tsukasa.

"He's a very busy man, and I can understand him not being able to take a day off so suddenly," said Minami. "However, he did promise to show up for her funeral."

"And so will I," said a certain boy from the previous day, holding a bouquet.

"Well, look who it is!" said Kagami, glaring at him. "It's our number-one suspect behind this."

"Was it you!?" growled Minami as she and everyone else fixed a sharp gaze at him.

"What would make you assume I had anything to do with your dog's death?"

"That seems like quite the coincidence, that a perfectly healthy animal would die the morning after some new neighbors move in," said Miyuki. "You should know that living things do not die over the course of only one night, especially since you wish to become a doctor. Or was that some sort of lie with which to flatter me?"

"That dog might not have taken nicely to me, but no living creature deserves to die like that!" said Hiyori.

"You better stay away from us unless you can totally prove you weren't behind that!" said Konata.

Satoshi stared at the girls impassively. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Very well. If you believe me to be the culprit, I will convince you otherwise..." The boy put the bouquet on the coffee table and walked towards the front door. "If you'll excuse me..." With that, he quietly exited.

Back at his house, Satoshi sat at his desk, contemplating on the situation.

_That had NOT gone as planned. There will be repercussions..._ As he rubbed his temples, an unpleasant thought sprung into his mind. _Dad will not be pleased with this. I might as well tell him now rather than later..._

The boy took out his phone and dialed his father.

"Dad..."

"Satoshi?" Kai answered

"We have a problem"

"Tell me what happened."

"I took out the Iwasaki girl's dog..."

"And?"

"I miscalculated their reactions. I may have moved too early. They suspect me now."

"What makes you say that?"

"I went to their house to console her but it seems they think I'm the one who killed it."

"Amazing..." Satoshi heard what he assumed was the sound of Kai's fist slamming on a table. "Absolutely amazing! The brains of the operation fucks up! What the hell were you thinking!?"

"I... I was thinking that I'd gain their trust by consoling them..."

"Boy, I thought you were smarter than this. You should know that killing someone's dog is no way to get people to trust you."

"My plan is nothing if not flexible. I just need an alibi and we can proceed as if nothing had changed..."

"Well, how are you going to get one?"

"I... haven't figured that out yet..."

"This was supposed to be a special operation, boy! I had an opportunity for revenge on the man who your mother cheated on me with, and now it's gone, and so are any profits you and your friends would have made, all thanks to you!"

"Dad, this is not the end, I assure you."

"Well then, you better think of something or be ready to hand me your pinky when get home and explain to your friends why we have to call this whole thing off! Or else we'll be more than happy to turn you in! Do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes father... And... about that alibi..."

"You're a clever boy, aren't you? Think of it yourself!" With that, Kai hung up.

Putting his phone back into his pocket, Satoshi couldn't help but groan. What was he going to do? His entire plan relied on getting everyone to trust him and his friends, and then breaking them all down so that they either committed suicide or shut themselves in from the world. He knew that if he and his cohorts were to threaten Miyuki in any way, her friends would step in should they have been left to their own devices. So early in the proccess, his plan backfired and now he had a dangerously high chance of getting arrested, or worse.

_"In hindsight, the simple act of kidnapping Miyuki Takara would have sufficed for this opperation." _Satoshi thought._ "I could have taken her somewhere – anywhere – where her friends would never find her once they caught wind of her absence. I could have then released her and disappeared without a trace after our real plans went through. Everything's clearer in hindsight..."_

He stood and began pacing the room.

"_Besides, it's too late for that now that they've caught wind of me. I have little to no time to aquire an alibi, nor do I have the time to formulate a new plan."_ Frustration built up in the boy. He could almost scream.

_"There's not getting out of this, is there?"_

Sure, he had planted hidden cameras in the Takara household's bathroom, with which to take naked footage of Miyuki. He could send copies of said footage to his cohorts to post online should he go to jail. But, having proved himself a big, sharp thorn on their side, they would not have lifted a finger to save him from arrest, even if he cut off one of his own.

_"Perhaps I should just accept my fate? After all, it was my own miscalculation that caused this."_

"I'm very sorry about what my son did," said Kai to Yukari, Yukiko by his side. "For that, we will call off this partnership, and you and your daughter will never see us again."

More than a week later, after Cherry's body was autopsied and then cremated, a funeral was held for the late animal by the Hiiragi family. All of Minami's friends, along with others mourning the loss of a pet in general, attended the service wearing black and holding candles. Her father, Masato, had also taken a day off from his job for this event.

Out of respect for the deceased animal, the Iwasaki family would not be doing anything recreational for forty-nine days. Minami's friends, promised not to either, since they all loved her, despite her treatment of Hiyori. This made all of them all the more glad that they were able to watch the cherry blossoms for that year, among doing other things, beforehand.

For nearly two months, the only fun places any of them would go to-and even then, only Konata and Patricia-would be to the cosplay cafe in Akihabara, since that's where they worked part-time. They and Hiyori were more glad than anyone that this was not summer vacation, lest they miss out on the next Comiket festival.

On the other hand, little did they know, that Satoshi and his family belonged to the Yakuza. Missing out on _anything_ following a pet's deathwould have been a sweet deal compared to the disaster they had just saved themselves from. Of course, this would only mean that some different people would suffer instead, but then again, what was _anyone's_ actual likelihood of eliminating some scum of the earth on their own?

**Author's notes: **Okay. So maybe Satoshi would have come up with a backup plan of sorts, but really, the way he played his cards isn't logical to begin with. This isn't so much about thwarting the plan beyond replanning in-universe, so much as showing how badly the plan as it was would fall apart on its own if everyone simply acted in-character. I was told that Miyuki, while not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is not stupid and _would_ have been concerned for her friends' safety. Kagami, being pretty hard to befriend in the first place, would not have just done stuff together with Satoshi and Riku (maybe talk a little), let alone fall right in love with, and even under the kind of influence Ryuji and Yuka had on her in I Was Kagami Hiiragi (Satan's Blood notwithstanding), there is evidence in that fic that she _would_ have come to her senses if _those two_ abused her friends before the point that she did so.

So, Satoshi and co. were gonna take to their own methods after failing to get any information from Miyuki? Why didn't he do that in the first place and keep things a whole lot simpler? And it was only _after_ that that he would tell her about the shower footage he took? And he and his buddies had to involve (some of) her friends in their whole scheme, barely even doing any homework from which they would have learned about Minoru, Misao, and everyone else ahead of time, not to mention any acquaintances of _theirs _they'd have to deal with? What kind of hurry were they in, just to set their plans to fruition? Not to mention Riku and Kenji camping out near _anyone_ while abusing Konata.

I'm not the only one who thinks that there is no feasible way to explain any of that or anyone's OOC-ness (especially Kagami's) in any way that holds water. Blood built up to Kagami's change in personality so much better in IWKH, and given how redundantly convoluted and risky those boys' master plan is when they should be keeping a low profile, one has to wonder what the actual point of that story was.


End file.
